Look at the smile on Justus' face!! And he's not even in a boulder field!

Yesterday saw a big step forward, with prototype Potted Plant kits assembled for the winners of last year's contest. With some luck, you too will soon be able to enjoy the thrill of your own pom pom flower, Squirrel King-style.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Please join me in congratulating Bob Kellough (our sound designer, as opposed to the Catburglar's sidekick who we were filming last week) for his win of the Motion Picture Sound Editors' Golden Reel award for best sound editing (direct to video).

Bob (center of the pic) took LOVE, which was shot entirely without sound and made it a tour de force. A well deserved and prestigious accolade!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

With the lure of finally getting her doll's house for good, Alien One was an enthusiastic co-conspirator on getting the final piece of the exterior of Ed's house into the can - she operated Bob's light inside the house.

Then, in true squirrel king style, she moved over to something completely different - hummingbirds!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Alien One got a set of watercolors over the holiday season and we've spent a number of days experimenting with what can be done.

Among the wonderful elements we've discovered together was Yupo paper! It's kind of waxy and the paint slips off, but it's very cool when it does dry. ... And I think it would be perfect for a map. Time for a trip to the art store to find the biggest sheet we can :)

Monday, February 13, 2012

Check out a couple of stills from last Friday's big day! Ed's house's background plates for a number of the bluescreen shots we shot with the Mango Goddess (Robin's car) a couple of weeks ago look awesome :)

And equally awesome, was to see the recurrence of some fanciful sets we've already used elsewhere ...

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Whimsy comes in many forms, but a patchwork construction always has it!

Artist Jay Nelson certainly has fun with that. And in case you're wondering if there's something in the air that we're all tapping into, notice the shape of his tree-house ... is that not the biggest acorn you've ever seen!!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

I'm excited to report that later today I'll be heading over to sit down with Bob, our sound design guru. We're going to spot our teaser for sound, which is to say to go through it with an eye on where to place the sound and what sounds to add.

As I've reported before, Bob is a super talented. If you're interested in hearing his work for yourself, check out a little movie called The Grey on which he was the sound designer. It's a little different to The Squirrel King but the sound design is being singled out in many reviews as superb :)

Monday, February 6, 2012

Sometimes a whim goes a long way, and the continuing evolution of our fish tanks is one such whim.

We actually lost a fish, Blue Moon, for the first time recently, due to old age. Of course we had our traditional flush (which Alien Two administered with great gusto), but the silver lining was the realization of how far our tanks have come!

The remaining fish are decidedly happy-campers, even with Dark Lightning (left) presiding over the underwater jungle.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Yesterday I realized we also need some sheep in our landscape, so before combining the bird and the background tests (check out the test clips on The Squirrel King YouTube channel) into one, I took time out to make some sheep.